New details about French spy network in Azerbaijan appear article by Observer Online

The issues related to the French spy network exposed in Azerbaijan have been recently widely discussed in leading French media outlets.

Even the father of detained Martin Ryan gave an interview in which he accused the French DGSE intelligence service, Caliber.Az reports citing the Observer Online article.

One of the people arrested by the officers of the Azerbaijani State Security Service in connection with this case is A. Mammadli, a citizen of the Azerbaijan Republic, who collaborated with intelligence officers working at the French embassy in Baku. He is accused of establishing extensive secret ties with French citizen Martin Ryan and collecting and transferring necessary information about the region in exchange for French citizenship and financial rewards.

Obviously, both individuals established ties with various employees of the French giant Societe Generale, a financial conglomerate that is one of the biggest banking networks in the world, upon the instructions of intelligence officers. Mammadli was involved in the opening of Societe Generale correspondent accounts in Azerbaijani banks and drawing up interbank agreements on other issues.

The reasons for dispatching Mammadli to Northern Ireland for a long period have not yet been disclosed.

Following the arrest of the above-mentioned individuals on December 4 and the exposure of the French intelligence network, the suspension of activity of Societe Generale's representative offices in 16 African countries on December 7, 2023 draws special attention. In an effort to cut losses, the bank is trying to seize the opportunity to sell branches and subsidiaries' assets to local firms in Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania, Chad and other countries and rationalise the closure under various pretexts.

The general failures have sparked discussions about the professional suitability of Antoine Creux, head of the French Societe Generale bank’s security department and former head of the intelligence and security department in the French Armed Forces.

Societe Generale is the bank where billionaire George Soros illegally amassed a fortune through unauthorized buying and selling of shares using confidential information in 1988, and he was convicted in 2002, managing to get away by paying a huge fine.